Pvt. William A. Long Remembered

Pvt. William A. Long flashes his signature smile after he completed the final challenge before graduating boot camp. Pvt. Long, who was killed in a military recruiting center attack in 2009 by a man who claims al-Qaida ties, was known by his family as Andy. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Andy Long waves at the camera as he helps his mom, Janet Long, with the dishes. He was the mischievous instigator in the family, she said. The two shared the same sense of humor. Janet Long was in the parking lot in June 2009 when her son was shot and killed at the military recruiting center in Little Rock. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Andy Long poses for the camera as a youngster. Growing up, his mother Janet Long said, her son was a voracious reader and was someone who always took up for the underdog. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Andy Long, whose parents and grandparents were proud military members, plays dress-up in camouflage when he was five or six years old. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Andy Long had long hair as an adolescent. Like all teenagers, his mother Janet Long said, he had to figure out his own way in life. He worked at Sonic and other odd jobs before he decided to join the Army. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Andy Long, in a photo with his sister, Vanessa Rice, during a family trip to Greers Ferry Lake in Arkansas before he joined the Army. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Pvt. William A. Long, left, and his younger brother Triston Long, pose with their sister, Vanessa Rice, at her wedding. (Photo courtesy the Long family)

Pvt. William A. Long chose to serve his country, a career path he'd talked about since he was 10. In the wake of a six-day trial that culminated in a surprise guilty plea by Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, Long's family is balancing the private pain of losing Andy with a public push for the federal government to admit the attack against Pvt. Long was an act of terrorism against American soldiers. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, Shannon Mercer)